Women’s golf coach Carrie Forsyth thought her team needed
a good bonding experience, so she invited the whole team to compete
in this week’s tournament. It helped that the event was in
Hawaii. “I thought we needed a little bit of fun over the
weekend, get to see the other side of people,” Forsyth said.
“Our first few events have been such a grind.” The
strategy seems to have worked. After the first two rounds of the
Kent Youel Invitational in Kapolei, Hawaii, the Bruins hold a
sizable 16-shot lead, posting a team total of 8-under par. Senior
Charlotte Mayorkas leads the tournament after posting a 69 and 70
over 36 holes on Tuesday. Freshman Amie Cochran sits one shot back
of Mayorkas in second place. The team is searching for its first
victory of the fall season.
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR: In a wet and soggy final
round at Bandon Dunes Golf Club in Bandon, Oregon, UCLA frittered
away all of a 5-shot lead on Tuesday at the rain-shortened
tournament, instead finishing in third place with a combined score
of 32-over par. For the Bruins, the tournament was just another
opportunity for some relatively new players on the college circuit
to gain experience for the upcoming spring season. Senior John
Poucher is the only regular starter returning from last
year’s squad. “We’re going to have a really good
team, but we’re going to see more inconsistencies than we
have in the past,” coach O.D. Vincent said. Sophomore Peter
Campbell led the Bruins in Oregon, posting a 36-hole total of
1-over par to tie for fourth place. Though they would like to win
every time they tee it up, Vincent and his players aren’t
putting much stock in their finishes in the fall season.
“We’re trying to look at it long term and not get
involved at looking at how we finish at each event,” Vincent
said.
FEELING ANYTHING BUT BLUE: Competing for
UCLA’s blue team, freshman Brandon Christianson finished in
third place at the SCU Invitational, finishing with a three-round
score of 5-over par.